Montgomery’s call from reaching Dr. Giordano? And when you got the Pride together to make sure Parker and his rogues didn’t get away?”
Gabe blinked, shocked. How the hell did this man know all that? “Yeah. It happened only two days ago.” Two long, exhausting days ago. Gabe yawned, not caring how James took it. He was fucking tired.
James took a long drink from the can. “Damn, that hits the spot. You started barking orders and the Wolves and the Pumas followed them.”
“So?” He belatedly twisted the cap off his beer and tossed it onto the counter.
The look James was giving him was full of amusement. “Do you think the Wolves would have listened to you if you’d merely been Marshal’s Second? A Puma Marshal’s Second?”
The bottle paused halfway to his lips. He’d sent one of the Wolves to check Max’s car and sure enough they’d found a radio frequency jammer. They were highly illegal, but not impossible to make, especially for a man who’d studied electrical engineering the way Rudy Parker had. Rudy had used it to keep Sheri from contacting Adrian, convincing her that he had Adrian and luring her out of the house. The Pack Alpha, Rick, had been shot trying to protect her. Gabe had tried to stop them, but it was too late. His shot missed the getaway car’s back tire and Sheri had been kidnapped.
The rogue Wolves were dead now, killed by Rick and his Pack Marshal, Ben Malone. Gabe had just finished disposing of the evidence. He was bone weary and not in any mood to deal with this shit. “I repeat. So?”
“Son, you were acting as a Hunter.”
Gabe snorted and took a swig of his beer. “I was not.”
“I think I know a fellow Hunter when I see one. Only a Hunter could make someone outside his species obey a direct order and only when hunting Rogues.”
Gabe pointed at James with the beer bottle. “That’s not true. An Alpha could make someone obey using their power.”
James shrugged. “An Alpha’s power is… different.” He toyed with the tab on top of the can. “How did you know to look for the RF jammer?”
“Logic. The cell phones of all of the men were on, but not a single call got through. There had to be a reason.”
“But an RF jammer? That’s pretty specific.”
Gabe shrugged. He was beginning to get irritated. “Look, I just knew, okay?”
James smiled at him like a proud papa. “Exactly.”
Gabe rubbed the glass bottle across his forehead. He was getting a headache. “This makes no sense.
Either you’re part of the hierarchy or you’re not. I’m Second. That means I’m part of the hierarchy.”
James chuckled. “Is that all? Of course you’re Halle’s Second! That won’t change.”
“How could it not? You said I’d be gone for six months and when I came back I’d be a Hunter.” And probably out of a job, damn it. He loved being sheriff.
“How many rogues do you think actually exist?”
“As many as there are criminals.”
This time it was James who looked confused.
“The majority of the populace is law-abiding citizens. A percentage of them are not. Some places have more, some less. It would be the same with rogue shifters.” He took another swig of beer and headed back into the living room. “Some of them are like the local college kids, looking for a good, illicit time.
Some of them are stone-cold killers who need to be taken down.”
“Daniel was taken down by a killer.”
Gabe stopped. He set the beer carefully on the coffee table. He felt on edge, just like he did when he saw a really bad case cross his desk. Fuck. In the background the video game’s music began playing again. “How?”
James picked up the remote and sat on the sofa, starting the game back up. “Want to find out?”
Yes. Damn it, yes, he did. “What about Sarah?”
James smiled. “She’s your mate, Gabe. She’ll still be here when we’re done.”
Gabe relaxed. It meant holding off on claiming his woman, but the urge to, well, hunt was on him. “Could this guy be a threat to Halle?”
James shook his head. “He’s been killing up by Yonkers.”
“New York? ” He’d have to go to New York?
“That will be part of your territory.”
Hell. New York City alone probably needed a Hunter. “How many Hunters are in this region?”
“Including you? Three. And your territory includes Pennsylvania, New York state and New Jersey.”
Well hell. Add one for Atlantic City. “So I get everything that’s not New York City and Atlantic City?”
James pointed at him and crowed. “Ha! Gotcha.”
Gabe realized how he’d phrased that and groaned. “Fuck.” He picked up his beer and finished it. “Let me at least claim my mate.”
James raised one eyebrow. “Do you really want to do that to her? Claim her and leave her for six months?” He shook his head. “Better you leave her unclaimed, for now. The mate dreams will be hell, but trust me, boy. You’ll want time when you claim her.” His grin turned heated. “Don’t you want to be able to love on her until you’re done, rather than bite her and run?”
Gabe thought of all the things he wanted to do to Sarah. The way he’d tie her to the bed, wrists bound to the headboard, eyes blindfolded. The spankings he wanted to administer to those lily-white ass cheeks, watching them turn red under his hand. He longed to feel her mouth on him, to taste her essence until he was glutted.
“I’ll need to ask for a leave of absence.”
“Claim family reasons.” James pulled out a piece of paper. “Your maternal grandfather is ill and you need to care for him.”
Gabe looked at the forged papers. His maternal grandfather had died before he’d been born. “You’re kidding me, right?” He couldn’t turn in forged papers. It was against the law. He handed them back to James.
James took them. “Sure. Go ahead and explain to your bosses that you’re hunting a killer Wolf. Tell them that you’ll be gone for roughly six months, barring holidays because we’re not complete bastards, training to take up the duties of a Senate Hunter. They’ll be fine with it, right?”
Gabe groaned. He just knew he was going to get fired. “Give me the damn papers.”
The ringing of the phone woke her early that day. “Hello?”
“Sarah?”
She sat up, suddenly wide awake. “Gabe? Hi!” Sarah pushed her hair behind her ear, nervous as all hell.
The sound of the sexy sheriff’s voice was enough to have her hands shaking. She’d been waiting for his call, or expecting him to show up on her doorstep for over a week now.
The first time she’d seen the dark-haired, blue-eyed sheriff she’d rocked back on her heels, stunned.
Her mate had looked equally shocked. He’d started towards her at that Pride meeting, but then Max had called for their attention and Gabe hadn’t been available for more than a quick phone call since. The last time she’d seen him had been across Belle’s hospital bed. He’d looked so grim she hadn’t had the heart to say anything to him. He’d nodded approvingly at her before exiting the room, leaving behind a lingering warmth that had sustained her through some rough times this week.
Now that the situation with Rudy Parker was finally resolved, it was time for him to claim her.
“I need to talk to you.”
His voice was serious. “Um. Okay.” She bit her lip, thinking rapidly. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she’d only had a cup of soup for dinner the night before. “Frank’s Diner?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”